Restaurant chains avoid nutrition labels as bill dies

Friday, April 3, 2009

ANNAPOLIS – Marylanders will still be able to order their cheeseburgers without a side of guilt.

A bill that would have required chain restaurants in Maryland to post nutritional data on their menu boards has been withdrawn by the sponsor at the request of the state health department, which plans to study the issue further.

"They want to create a workgroup to take a comprehensive look at a variety of issues having to do with food and nutrition, obesity and diet," said Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Prince George's), who also signed onto a bill that would have outlawed the use of trans fats at most Maryland restaurants.

The menu labeling effort was part of a national trend to combat obesity, particularly among children. California last year became the first state to sign a law mandating calorie counts on restaurant menus. New York, Seattle and Philadelphia are among several large municipalities that have adopted nutrition labeling requirements. More than 20 states and local jurisdictions are considering similar legislation.

Before the measure's withdrawal, Niemann argued that posting information is essential to a customer's eating habits.

"We wouldn't think of having a menu without a price on it and yet the nutritional components of what we eat [carry] a price and we ought to know that as well," he said earlier in the legislative session.

The Maryland bill would have required chains with at least 15 locations nationwide to post the calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium contained in each menu item.

Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and A&W All American Foods, announced plans last October to post calorie information on its 20,000 store menus nationwide by 2011.

Studies have shown that eating too much fast food leads to obesity and supporters contend that diners will make healthier choices if the nutritional data is posted on menu boards. It may also lower health care costs that stem from poor eating habits, advocates say.

The state health department reported that nearly 63 percent of Maryland adults – roughly 2.5 million people – were overweight or obese in 2007. Almost half the adult population in Somerset County was obese in 2007, according to the report, while Montgomery County had the lowest prevalence of overweight adults at 16.8 percent.

Among youngsters between 13 and 18, 15 percent are overweight, according to a 2006 Maryland Youth Tobacco survey.

Although many dining establishments list nutrition in a pamphlet or on a tray liner, Niemann said people will still make unhealthy choices unless the information is visible at the point of purchase.

For instance, a pumpkin scone at Starbucks has roughly 180 more calories than a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, "which is not what I would have thought," Niemann said.

The restaurant industry opposed the measure that they say would clutter menus, cause longer lines and make it more complicated for franchises to implement because each state and municipal law differs. It is instead pushing a federal law to adopt a uniform standard for nutrition labeling that would give restaurants more flexibility in how to display such information.

"This patchwork just makes it very difficult [and] creates a logistical nightmare to have this done state by state," said Melvin R. Thompson, senior vice president for government affairs and public policy at the Restaurant Association of Maryland.

Niemann said he has been encouraged by the amount of support his measure generated this year and expects it to increase next year "because it's such a foundational, common-sense thing to do."

As more states and localities adopt similar laws requiring menu labeling, Nieman believes it's inevitable that Maryland will follow suit.

"No matter what else we do with nutrition, people have to have accurate information and that's what this would give them," he said.

abrody@somdnews.com